The story of the greatest British sit-com and its enduring appeal.

Published to coincide with the 30th annivers ary of the transmission of the first episode of Dad''s Army, this book is a gazeteer of all 80 episodes, as well as chapt ers about the film, the play and the radio series. '

The Home Guard was formed in May 1940, when the dark clouds of war rolled over Britain and the nation stood alone, threatened with a Nazi invasion. Within six weeks of a radio appeal for a new civilian army to guard the Home Front, a staggering 1.5 million men had enrolled for service, covering every city, town and village in the country. Despite initial deficiencies in the provision of training and equipment, the Home Guard later developed into a cohesive force and one of impressive diversity. David Carroll draws on the personal accounts of those men and eventually women who served, to reveal what it was really like to spend long nights on duty watching for the disguised enemy parachutists to drop on the fields of Britain. He conveys the fighting spirit of the men while examining the Home Guard's contribution to the war effort. Dad's Army is a comprehensive account of the Home Guard - from the early disorganised days of May 1940 until 'Stand Down' at the close of 1944, by which time they had become a force to be reckoned with.

He is one of the best known faces in television comedy, yet the long-suffering vicar of Walmington-on-Sea is in real life a Christian of deep conviction. Perfectly cast as the eccentric vicar, constantly tetchy at the invasion of his church hall by Captain Mainwaring and the elderly platoon, he appeared in the famous BBC series throughout its nine-year run and also in many other television and stage dramas. Still in constant demand for public appearances Frank takes an affectionate view behind the scenes of Dad's Army and the world of show business and reveals his personal journey through faith.

During the crisis year of 1792 when war against France was at its closest, a variety of societies and associations of ‘Loyal Britons’ were set up throughout Britain. Their aim was to organise patriotic, anti-French forces in defense of king and country, and to help maintain the established order. The need to provide an internal defense force resulted in the Volunteer Act of 1794. It witnessed the formation of hundreds of volunteer regiments on the upswell in loyalist sentiment following the disorder and instability witnessed across the Channel in Revolutionary France. By 1798, there were 118,000 volunteers but, faced with the possibility of a French invasion of Southern England, William Pitt’s government aimed to expand this number substantially. By 1804 there were an astonishing 380,000 volunteers under arms and the various Corps made up half to one third of all the home service forces. When we add in those volunteers who agreed to serve overseas, as garrison troops in India for example, the number grows to approximately 800,000 – meaning that around one in every five adult males participated in military activities. This amazing groundswell of patriotic fervour has seldom been investigated before. Using diaries and archive sources, this book seeks to explore the ‘Dad’s Army’ of the Napoleonic Wars. These men were far more than local bands of volunteers, they represented a militarisation of society not previously seen and which was repeated again when the world was thrown into war in the twentieth century.

When we laugh at Dad's Army we laugh at ourselves, and more than 30 years after it was first broadcast, millions of us are still laughing - whenever and wherever it is repeated. With contributions from the people who planned, produced and performed the programme, and material drawn from the BBC archives, acclaimed author Graham McCann has written was should prove to be the definitive story of a very British comedy. This is the story of a classic British sit-com and its enduring appeal.

A guide to learning more about your relatives’ experience serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. In this fully revised edition of Finding Your Father’s War, military historian Jonathan Gawne has written an easily accessible handbook for anyone seeking greater knowledge of their relatives’ experience in World War II, or indeed anyone seeking a better understanding of the U.S. Army during World War II. With over 470 photographs, charts, and an engaging narrative with many rare insights into wartime service, this book is an invaluable tool for understanding our “citizen soldiers,” who once rose as a generation to fight the greatest war in American history. “Jonathan's Gawne’s book is a 5-star blueprint, well-written and beautifully illustrated, to deciphering a loved one’s WW2 U.S. Army service.” —The Commander’s Voice “A great read not only for genealogists wishing to research an ancestor, but also for those who simply have an interest in the United States Army during World War II . . . written so that anyone, even those with no military background, can understand, yet also includes more advanced information . . . detail is phenomenal . . . a must read reference book for any professional genealogist or military historian.” —APG Quarterly